Managing merchant communications

ABSTRACT

A merchant system structures communications among merchants, partners, and customers. The merchant system may include a messaging component that organizes messages so that a manager can quickly navigate and understand the content of incoming messages. The messaging system also may categorize a user&#39;s profile so that a user may share profile information established at a first merchant with a second merchant.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 61/652,664, filed on May 29, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed subject matter relates to a merchant deal creation andredemption system for managing online deals.

BACKGROUND

Computer systems and communication networks, such as the Internet,enable merchants to offer and sell products and services to consumers.Electronic commerce companies facilitate interaction between merchantsand consumers by providing websites, web-based applications, and onlineservices to support various processes and transactions involved with thebuying and selling of products and services.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an online buying system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of hardware components including a dealmachine and a merchant tablet of the online buying system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a screen shot of a feedback interface provided to theconsumer;

FIG. 4 is a screen shot of a merchant portal showing feedback fromconsumers;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a computer-implemented method performed by amobile device of a merchant;

FIGS. 6-15 are screen shots of exemplary user interfaces of a consumerapplication used for instant deals; and

FIGS. 16-24 are screens shots of exemplary user interfaces of a merchantapplication used for managing and redeeming deals.

FIGS. 25-31 are screen shots of exemplary user interfaces of a merchantmessage center used to manage communications.

FIG. 32 is a screen shot of a profile manager that enables a customer tocontrol which profile information is shared among merchants.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Managing electronic communications with customers and partners mayrepresent a complex undertaking for a merchant. A merchant may feature asmall management team primarily focused on operational issues (e.g.,delivering services to customers). Thus, the merchant may turn to atransaction intermediary in order to facilitate better management ofthese communications. A merchant may interface with a transactionintermediary to manage communications with customers and managemarketing campaigns. The transaction intermediary may offer a suite ofproducts to the merchant in order to assist with managing communicationsand assist with other challenges.

For example, the transaction intermediary may offer a merchant messagecenter that structures communications addressed to the merchant in aparticular manner. The transaction intermediary may partner with themerchant to offer incentivized promotions that feature a voucher-basedoffer-and-redemption system. As customers accept the offers, thecustomers may include special requests and/or instructions. The customermay request a particular time for the offer or include criticalinformation about food allergies. The transaction intermediary mayanalyze this preference information received alongside other informationand identify actionable information for the merchant. The transactionintermediary then may present the actionable information to the merchantthrough a merchant message center. The merchant message center may beconfigured to employ a filter so that the merchant may quickly perceivethe most pressing information.

In one configuration, the merchant message center includes a prioritizeddisplay that shows key excerpts of all customers set to visit arestaurant in the next hour. Thus, when a customer checks in, arestaurant manager viewing the portal may perceive (1) an indication ofwhether a particular customer is a frequent guest, (2) a list of foodallergies, and/or (3) the past purchases of the past customer. Therestaurant manager then may act upon this information by offeringpreferential treatment, equipping the waiter to offer a personalizedmenu offering, or also making a special note to recommend items thatwere well-received in the past.

In addition to organizing messages in a merchant message center by timeframe, the merchant message center also may organize messages by othercategories and criteria. In one configuration, the manager may organizemessages by requested reservation so that a merchant may review proposedtimes for appointments. In another configuration, the manager may sortmessages by customer importance. In still another configuration, themerchant message center may view higher level business analytics thatshow an indication of the overall projected resource requirement. Theprojected resource requirements also may be linked to a staffingapplication so that a manager can ensure that the merchant has aspecified level of staffing that is responsive to a projected resourcelevel. Thus, a restaurant may add workers of particular skill sets(e.g., extra chefs or waiters) to be responsive to a particular demand.

Referring to FIG. 1, an online buying system 100 is designed to offer adeal to a consumer 105. The deal is a monetary discount given to an itemor items for sale by a merchant 110 at a merchant store 115 and the dealcan be open for a set period of time (for example, 24 hours). The dealcan be group-based (in which a plurality of consumers buy the deal) orthe deal can be individually tailored to specific types of consumers.

The merchant 110 is a business entity that has goods and/or services tosell that are of interest to a consumer 105. The merchant 110 canmaintain inventory of goods, and can house at least some of theinventory in a brick and mortar store 115. The merchant 110 has abusiness relationship 160 with a deal broker 130 of a deal brokerage120.

The deal brokerage 120 is a party that offers the deal in the dealwebsite. The deal broker 130 is an entity that creates, with the helpand feedback of the merchant, the deal, offers the deal in the dealwebsite, and manages the deal using the deal machine 125. The dealbrokerage 120 and the deal broker 130 do not maintain inventory of goodsor services. Rather, it is the merchant 110 who maintains the inventory,for example, at the merchant store 115 or at a location such as awarehouse that may be distinct from the merchant store 115. The merchantstore 115 can be a brick and mortar store physically located near to theconsumer 105 or to someone else (such as a recipient 165 of the deal)who will be receiving the deal obtained by the consumer 105. The store115 can alternatively or additionally include a virtual (that is,online) store accessible through a network.

The deal is offered by the deal brokerage 120 in a deal website that iscreated and managed by a deal machine 125, which is controlled by oraccessible to one or more deal brokers 130. The item or items for saleby the deal brokerage 120 can be a product (for example, food) or aservice (for example, cleaning services or transportation services) orgroups of products or groups of services. The deal website enables theconsumer 105 to purchase the deal and then share the deal with others.

The deal machine 125 includes a programmable machine that is able torespond to instructions in a well-defined manner and can executeinstructions (such as found in a program or engine). The deal machine125 includes electronic and digital components, including hardwareneeded to implement the instructions and read/access data. The dealmachine 125 includes a communication mechanism that is able tocommunicate with the network 135 through a communication channel 150.Additionally, the deal machine 125 includes components such as a webserver that hosts and manages the deal website. The deal website can bepublic (viewable by anyone on the Internet) or private (viewable only bypersons who have provided identifiable information and have received aunique identification number). Details of the deal machine 125 are shownin FIG. 2 and are discussed below with reference to FIG. 2.

The consumer 105 communicates with the deal machine 125 through anetwork 135 such as the Internet. The network 135 may include anycombination of local area and/or wide area networks, and thecommunication channels 145, 150 can be wired, wireless, or a combinationof the two.

The consumer 105 is an entity who participates in the online buying ofthe deal. The consumer 105 can be a human or a computer-controlleddevice able to participate in online deal buying. The consumer uses theconsumer communications device 140 to access the deal at the dealwebsite hosted by the deal machine 125 on the network 135, or throughany other suitable interface for receiving the deal.

The consumer's communication device 140 can be a computer such as adesktop computer or laptop computer, a smartphone, a cellular telephone,a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any other device that includesequipment to communicate over a communication channel 145 to access thenetwork 135. The communication device 140 is capable of receiving inputand transmitting data through the network 135.

As discussed in greater detail below, the deal website provides aninterface through which the consumer 105 can obtain information aboutthe deal, such as, for example, the location at which the deal can beused, the price of deal, a description of the item or items for sale inthe deal, or the time during which deal is offered.

Once the deal is purchased, the consumer 105 can retain the deal for hisor herself or the consumer 105 can give the deal to another recipient(for example, by gifting the deal). The consumer 105 (or the recipientof the deal if the recipient is not the consumer 105) can use the deal(represented by the arrow 170) by accessing the merchant store 115either in person (if the store 115 is a brick and mortar store) orvirtually (for example, if the store 115 includes an online presence)before the expiration of the deal voucher.

Various types of deal vouchers are contemplated for showing a record ofthe purchased transaction. For example, the voucher may be in the formof a printable receipt or may be in the form of a receipt viewablethrough a graphical user interface (GUI) of a portable electronic device(such as a smartphone) on the consumer 105.

To use the deal, the consumer 105 presents a deal voucher to themerchant 110 and enables the merchant 110 to scan or read the dealvoucher to check that it is valid (that is, not expired and notfraudulent). For example, the consumer 105 can print the deal voucherand take it to the merchant store 115. As another example, the consumer105 can let the merchant 110 electronically scan a code that is uniqueto the deal voucher and is displayed on a portable electronic device(such as a smartphone) of the consumer 105. The consumer 105 (orrecipient) can use the deal voucher at any time before the expiration ofthe deal voucher.

Referring to FIG. 2, the hardware components of the online buying system100 are shown along with their relationships to each other. Inparticular, each consumer communication device 140 includes a networkbrowser 200 that provides a user interface on the device 140 to permitaccess to the network 135. The deal website is displayed or accessibleon the network browser 200.

The deal machine 125 includes an application server 205 that is incommunication with the network 135 through a firewall 210. Theapplication server 205 includes a combination of hardware and softwareto provide and manage the deal offers through the network 135. Theapplication server 205 can include memory and input/output devices. Theapplication server 205 is connected to one or more applications orsoftware engines such as an electronic mail (email) engine 215, areferral engine 220, a social engine 225, and an ecommerce engine 230.Additionally, the application server 205 can be connected to a database235. Each engine 215, 220, 225, 230 can include its own dedicateddatabase 217, 222, 227, 232 that can be accessible to the applicationserver 205. The email engine 215, the referral engine 220, and theecommerce engine 230 are connected to a billing engine 240, which canalso include a dedicated database 242.

The merchant tablet 117 is an Internet-connected tablet-based computerthat is able to establish a communication link between the deal machine125 and the merchant tablet 117, for example, through the network 135.The merchant tablet 117 can be a tablet personal computer or anysuitable personal computer such as a desktop computer or laptopcomputer, a smartphone, a cellular telephone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), or any other device that includes equipment tocommunicate through network 135. The merchant tablet 117 can be equippedwith a touchscreen 250 as a primary input device. The merchant tablet117 can be controlled by other suitable control mechanism, such as apressure-triggered stylus, a virtual onscreen keyboard, a physicalkeyboard, or voice recognition.

In general, the merchant tablet 117 includes the basic components of aportable computer such as a processor, memory, input/output devices (forexample, the touchscreen 250, a physical keyboard, buttons, amicrophone, a camera, a scanner, a speaker). The merchant tablet 117includes a wireless adapter 252 for Internet and local networkconnection. Thus, the merchant tablet can use a Wi-Fi data connection ora wireless (for example, 3G or 4G) data connection to browse theInternet, load and stream media, and install software. The merchanttablet 117 can also include a near-field transceiver device 254 thatenables near field communication (NFC) between the merchant tablet 117and other devices such as the consumer communication device 140.

In some implementations, the merchant tablet 117 may be, for example, aniPad™, while in other implementations, the merchant tablet 117 may be anAndroid™-based tablet computer. In other implementations, the dealbrokerage 120 can design and make a custom-designed merchant tablet 117.

The merchant tablet 117 memory stores an operating system that is run bythe processor. In some implementations, the operating system may becustomized or custom made. The operating system can allow the dealbrokerage 120, through the deal machine 125, to push updates and newapplications to the merchant tablets 117 on the demand of either themerchant 110 or the deal brokerage 120. If the merchant tablet 117 is aniPad™, then the operating system may use Apple's iOS operating system.The deal brokerage 120 can develop custom applications on top of thebase operating system. Moreover, the operating system may be anAndroid™-based system.

In some implementations, the deal brokerage 120 leases the merchanttablet 117 to the merchant 110. In other implementations, the dealbrokerage 120 sells the merchant tablet 117 to merchant 110. And instill other implementations, the deal brokerage 120 provides themerchant tablet 117 for free to the merchant 110.

The merchant tablet 117 can run various applications. For example, themerchant tablet 117 can run a tablet management system that can beweb-based. The tablet management system can track physical devices (suchas the merchant tablet 117) from creation, to shipping, to activation bythe merchant 110. The tablet management system can provide for remoteactivation for the merchant 110 with no need for a username andpassword. The tablet management system can enable the deal brokerage 120to remotely wipe the merchant tablet 117, for example, remotely eraseall of the data that is stored on the merchant tablet 117 and bring themerchant tablet 117 back to its factory default or initial state.

As another example, the merchant tablet 117 can run an applicationmanagement system that can be web and/or tablet-based. The applicationmanagement system specifies single or multiple applications to beinstalled per tablet 117 and/or per merchant 110. The applicationmanagement system pushes the applications to the merchant tablet 117 forinstallation. The application management system upgrades and/or managesreleases of applications remotely for all applications, includingupdate, delete and remove.

The merchant tablet 117 can be equipped with an app store, where themerchant 110 could access new apps for running her business. The onlinebuying system 100 can be set up to enable third parties to sell apps tomerchants 110 through the app store on the merchant tablet 117.

As another example, the merchant tablet 117 can run a deal (voucher)redemption system. The deal redemption system may provide a deal portalfor the merchant 110 to log in to and manage his own deals. The dealredemption system may allow the merchant 110 to mark the deal asredeemed. The redemption system can be configured with a device 256 suchas a bar code scanner or a credit card reader, which can be used toidentify the consumer 105 who is attempting to redeem the deal. Forexample, the device 256 could be used to scan a special identificationcard 260 (shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) issued from the deal brokerage 120 tothe consumer 105, and the card 260 can have an optical identifier suchas a bar code or any other identifier that can be read by the device256.

The merchant tablet 117 can be equipped with a point of sale (POS)system that is able to accept payment for the deal directly from theconsumer communication device 140. In this way, the merchant tablet 117can enable even greater flexibility for the merchant 110 to run hisbusiness.

In some implementations, the merchant tablet 117 can run an analyticssystem, which enables the merchant 110 to obtain data about the deal,like average check size, how much was made, and where the customer 105is coming from on a map.

As another example, the merchant tablet 117 can run a customer feedbacksystem, which can be configured to track how much each customer 105spends when redeeming the deal at the merchant store 115, to track howoften each customer 105 visits certain merchants 110, to requestfeedback from customers 105, and to access or view the customerfeedback.

Referring to FIG. 3, for example, a customer 105 can be provided with afeedback interface 300 that is generated by the customer feedback systemand/or the deal brokerage 120. The feedback interface 300 asks thecustomer 105 questions or requests information from the customer 105. Inthis example, the customer 105 is asked: to rate their experience at themerchant store 115; if she had previously been to the merchant store115; if she will return to this merchant store 115; and to provideadditional comments. The deal brokerage 120 and/or the deal machine 125can aggregate and analyze the data received by the customers 105.

Referring to FIG. 4, for example, the merchant 110 may be provided witha merchant center feedback interface 400 on the merchant tablet 117 (oron any other suitable computing device operated by the merchant 110).The interface 400 enables the merchant 110 to view the comments, to viewaggregated data based on the customer feedback, and can even view a tagcloud to more easily understand the customer feedback. The submissionsfrom the customers 105 can be anonymously provided to the merchants 110.

Another application that can be stored and run on the merchant tablet117 is a mobile consumer deal voting system. The mobile consumer dealvoting system can be used to address issues related to quality ofmerchant-created deals, consumers can vote on both deals and merchantsaccording to several parameters. For example, in deal-specific voting,consumers 105 can add a positive or a negative vote to any deal they cansee on their mobile device, independent of whether the consumer 105 haspurchased that deal. These votes can be aggregated (by the deal machine125 or the merchant tablet 117) and then presented to both the merchant110 (by way of the merchant tablet 117) and to other consumers 105 toensure the merchant has feedback on the quality of their offers. Themerchant 110 can thereby adjust his offer, as necessary, to keep qualityoffers coming for consumers 105.

As another example, in merchant-specific voting, consumers 105 can add apositive or a negative vote to any merchant 110 on a per deal basisafter purchase and redemption, as well as offer a free text commentabout their experience with the merchant 110. These votes can beaggregated (by the deal machine 125 or the merchant tablet 117) and thenpresented to both merchants 110 (by way of the merchant tablet 117) andother consumers 105 to ensure the consumers 105 have an overall qualityguideline for merchants 110 when making a purchasing decision. Theaggregate votes and individual comments can also be presented to ensurethat all parties involved have an understanding of the quality providedby the merchant 110. In other implementations, the mobile consumer dealvoting system can be run on the deal machine 125 or can be presented tothe merchant 110 by way of another computer.

Another application that can be stored and run on the merchant tablet117 is a merchant deal creation system. Using the merchant deal creationsystem, a merchant 110 can access an interface on the merchant tablet117. The interface permits the merchant 110 to define parameters of adeal the merchant would like to offer consumers 105 through mobilechannels. Upon deal creation, with approval from the deal brokerage 120,the merchant 110 can offer this deal to consumers 105 at the time and atthe price point the merchant specifies; including the ability to limitto a number of purchases per time period as specified by the merchant110. The merchant 110 may set parameters including, for example, price,value, actual offer details including certain items or services forsale, time the offer is valid, and unit number parameters available topurchase. Alternatively or in addition, the interface of the merchantdeal creation system can be accessed on the web in addition to orinstead of on the merchant tablet 117.

As a further example, the merchant tablet 117 may run an instant dealsystem, which enables the real-time purchasing and/or billing of deals.In the instant deal system, the consumer 105 purchases a deal on thestreet, and can instantly go into the merchant's store 115 to redeem thedeal because merchant tablet 117 is updated instantaneously with thedeal and the information about the consumer 105 who bought the deal. Theinstant deal system gives the consumer 105 the ability to view deals inhis/her neighborhood on his/her own mobile device (for example,smartphone) 140. The consumer 105 can purchase the deal and thenimmediately go redeem the deal at the merchant store 115. The merchants110 are able to set their deal to run during certain times each day (forexample, weekdays from 2-5 pm), using the instant deal system to fillavailable capacity.

In other examples, the merchant tablet 117 can run a real-time dealsystem. The real-time deal system offers deals in real time to consumers105 through the merchant tablet 117. The merchant tablet 117 storesinformation (such as purchasing information, demographic information, orgeographic information) about the consumer 105, and can enable themerchant 110 to bid on a certain type of customer 105 (for example,customer X spends $125 on visits to spas) and can tailor an offer for adeal on the fly based on the information such as the customer type andprior buying patterns. In order to assist with tailoring an offer for adeal on the fly, some of the customer's information may be convertedinto a representation of consumer ranking (e.g., letters, numbers font,icon, image, etc.), which indicates the customer's likelihood ofaccepting the offered deal. The deal machine 125 uses the consumerranking or otherwise processes the customer's information by pushingmessages to the merchant tablet 117 based on which customers aregeographically “near” (or in proximity to) the merchant store 115; thus,the merchant 110 can present a specialized deal to bring these nearbycustomers 105 into the merchant store 115.

The merchant tablet 117 can include other software to help the merchant110 connect with consumers 105, perform daily business operations,message online, and increase revenue. For example, the merchant tablet117 can enable email or online marketing and advertising, can providescheduling systems, can enable monitoring, aggregation, and consultingof social media such as Facebook™, email, Twitter™, etc., can provideconsumer loyalty programs, can provide location-based services andnetworking, and can be used to track and manage inventory.

The online buying system 100, and in particular, the merchant tablet 117may simplify redemption and small business processes, ensure thatmerchants 110 know in real-time their options, status, and opportunitieswith respect to products and services offered by the deal brokerage 120,help consumers 105 and merchants 110 interact with the deal brokerage120 and with each other, and permit real-time transactions.

Referring to FIG. 5, a computer-implemented method 500 includes stepsthat may be performed by a mobile device (for example, the merchanttablet 117) of a merchant (for example, the merchant 110).

As shown, the computer-implemented method 500 includes executing amerchant application on the mobile device of the merchant 110 (step510). The merchant application may be provided by the deal brokerage120. In some cases, the merchant application may be pre-installed on amobile device provided to the merchant 110 by the deal brokerage 120. Inother cases, the merchant application may be downloaded to the mobiledevice of the merchant 110 from an app store or the deal website of thedeal brokerage 120.

The merchant application may be configured to communicate with a dealserver over a network (for example, LAN and/or WAN) via a wireless dataconnection (for example, Wi-Fi, 3G, 4G, etc.). Typically, the dealserver (for example, the application server 205) will be included in aremote online buying system provided by the deal brokerage 120. The dealsever may, however, be a local deal server at the merchant store 115that also may be provided by the deal brokerage 120. In such cases, thelocal deal server may be configured to provide Wi-Fi access for themerchant 110 and/or customers of the merchant store 115.

The computer-implemented method 500 includes creating a deal for one ormore products or services provided by the merchant 110 (step 520). Thedeal can be created by the merchant application in response to themerchant 110 inputting parameters such as a price for the deal, a valueof the deal, a location at which the deal can be used, and an openperiod for the deal. The open period, in turn, may indicate a day forthe deal and a set time period within the day for the deal during whichthe deal is offered. In some implementations, the deal can be an instantdeal created by the merchant application on the same day that the dealis to be offered. The instant deal may be a completely new deal or basedon a prior deal. For example, the instant deal could be based on a priordeal which was created by the merchant and was purchased at least aminimum number of times required the deal brokerage 120 to qualify theprior deal for redistribution as an instant deal.

The computer-implemented method 500 includes providing the deal to thedeal server for offering the deal to consumers (step 530). The deal maybe provided by the merchant application to the deal server over thenetwork, and the deal server may be configured to offer the deal toconsumers on the day for the deal. The deal server can offer the deal toconsumers based at least in part on geographic proximity of theconsumers to the location at which the deal can be used. For example,the deal may be offered to consumers within walking distance (e.g., 0.5mile radius) of the merchant store 115. The deal server may beconfigured to determine the geographic proximity of the consumer. Thedetermination may be achieved through accessing data pertaining to thegeographic proximity of the consumer. In some cases, the deal may beoffered to particular consumers based on their prior buying patterns,such as through the consumer's purchase history or through theconsumer's ranking.

The deal may be pushed to computing devices (such as smartphones) ofparticular consumers (for example, customers close to the merchant store115 and/or likely to make a purchase from the merchant store 115).Alternatively or additionally, the deal may be offered to a particularconsumer in response to a request for instant deals sent to the dealserver by an application installed on a computing device of theparticular consumer. For example, a particular consumer can issue arequest for instant deals to the deal server using a network browserapplication and/or a consumer application provided by the deal brokerage120. Based on the geographic location of the particular consumer, thedeal server may aggregate and offer instant deals available frommultiple merchants in geographic proximity to the particular consumer.In some cases, the network browser application and/or a consumerapplication may be configured to determine a geographic location of theparticular consumer. The network browser application and/or consumerapplication may display instant deals which are in geographic proximityto a consumer as a listing and/or as icons on a map. The consumer mayuse the network browser application and/or consumer application toselect instant deals and to purchase selected instant deals viatransactions with the deal server.

Referring to FIG. 6, a touch-sensitive user interface 600 of a consumerapplication displays multiple categories of deals including an “instantdeals” category 601 that displays a total number of instant dealsavailable. As shown, the user interface 600 also may include a “specialdeal” banner 602 for a particular instant deal which displays the timeremaining for the particular instant deal.

Referring to FIG. 7, a touch-sensitive user interface 700 of theconsumer application displays a listing of available instant dealsincluding a “special” instant deal 701 available from 8 AM-11 AM, aninstant deal 702 available from 7 AM-7 PM, an instant deal 703 availablefrom 8 AM-5 PM, and an instant deal 704 available from 8:30 AM-1 PM.

Referring to FIG. 8, a touch-sensitive user interface 800 of theconsumer application displays filtering options 801 for filteringinstant deals based on various categories of products and/or services.It can be appreciated that the listing of instant deals may be orderedbased on distance, time, price, and so forth. As shown, the listing ofinstant deals may be updated to reflect a “sold out” instant deal 802.

Referring to FIG. 9, a touch-sensitive user interface 900 of theconsumer application a displays a listing of instant deals which hasbeen updated to reflect an instant deal 901 purchased by the consumer.

Referring to FIG. 10, a touch-sensitive user interface 1000 of theconsumer application displays a map 1001 including icons 1002corresponding to locations of available instant deals in geographicproximity to the consumer.

Referring to FIG. 11, a touch-sensitive user interface 1100 of theconsumer application displays a selected instant deal 1101, a paymentmethod button 1102, and a “buy now” button 1103.

Referring to FIG. 12, a touch-sensitive user interface 1200 of theconsumer application displays an indication 1201 that a selected instantdeal is not yet active and a message 1202 advising the consumer of thetime that the selected instant deal will be active. The user interfacealso includes a “share” button 1203 for sharing the selected instantdeal with others. It can be appreciated that the selected instant dealmay be shared with others before the selected instant deal is active.

Referring to FIG. 13, a touch-sensitive user interface 1300 of theconsumer application displays an indication 1301 that a selected instantdeal has been purchased. The indication 1301 displays deal informationincluding a purchaser name 1302 and a unique voucher identifier 1303.The unique voucher identifier may include any number of indicators thatshows proof that the user purchased the deal, such as a differentiablesequence of numbers, a differentiable sequence of letters, adifferentiable sequence of characters and symbols, a differentiablebarcode, a differentiable sequence of images, and/or some combination ofthe above. The user interface 1300 also includes a “share” button 1304for sharing the purchased instant deal with others. A purchased deal maybe shared with others before and after redemption.

Referring to FIG. 14, a touch-sensitive user interface 1400 of theconsumer application displays options for sharing a deal using SMS,email, Twitter™, and Facebook™.

Referring to FIG. 15, a touch-sensitive user interface 1500 of theconsumer application displays a messaging interface for enabling theconsumer to compose and send a message 1501 for sharing a deal withothers. As shown, the body of the message 1501 includes a unique link1502 for sharing the deal. If the deal is purchased by others using theunique link 1502 at least a minimum number of time (e.g., three times),the deal is free to the consumer.

The computer-implemented method 500 includes receiving real-timeinformation regarding purchased deals from the deal server (step 540).In various implementations, real-time information is received by themerchant application from the deal server over the network in responseto transactions made between the deal server and consumers to purchasethe deal. For example, when a consumer purchases the deal using thesmartphone application or deal website of the deal brokerage 120,real-time information is conveyed from the deal server to the merchantapplication on the mobile device of the merchant. The real-timeinformation may include deal information including a unique voucheridentifier for each purchased deal and the name of the purchaser.

The computer-implemented method 500 includes displaying a listing ofpurchased deals by the merchant application (step 550). In variousimplementations, the listing of purchased deals includes the name of thepurchaser, the voucher identifier of each purchased deal, and aredemption status of each purchased deal.

Referring to FIG. 16, a touch-sensitive user interface 1600 of amerchant application displays a listing of purchased deals including aredeemed purchased deal 1601 and an unredeemed purchased deal 1602. Theuser interface 1600 may be displayed by the merchant application on amobile device (for example, the merchant tablet 117 or a smartphone)and/or other computing device (for example, a personal computer) of themerchant 110. As shown, the merchant may select to undo redemption ofthe redeemed purchased deal 1601. It can be appreciated that theunredeemed purchased deal 1602 may be selected for redemption by touchinput. The user interface 1600 also includes a search interface 1603 tosearch for deals by name or by voucher identifier.

Referring to FIG. 17, a touch-sensitive or other user interface 1700 ofa merchant application displays a deal transaction history associatedwith a particular consumer. The transaction history is configured to bedisplayed on the user interface of the merchant in accordance with alllocal laws, customs, practices and regulations that would pertain to thedisplay of a consumer's deal transaction history, and with care toprotect user-sensitive information as needed. The user interface 1700may be presented, for example, upon searching for deals by consumer nameand/or searching for consumers in a geographic location. As shown, theuser interface 1700 may be displayed by the merchant application on themerchant tablet 117, for example.

Alternatively or in addition, a touch-sensitive or other user interface1700 of the merchant application may display a consumer ranking of thetype earlier described (e.g., letters, numbers font, icon, image, etc.),which provides a merchant with information on the consumer's chances ofaccepting a deal transaction. The consumer ranking may also provideinformation to the merchant on the consumer's loyalty and/or likelihoodof purchasing goods and services from the merchant. The consumer rankingmay incorporate a consumer's deal transaction history with a merchant,and may also incorporate some combination of other consumer information,such as a consumer's demographics, a consumer's deal purchase historywith other merchants, a consumer's methods for purchasing a deal and aconsumer's geographic location. The consumer ranking may be generatedwithin the tablet, and/or may be downloaded from a server. The rankingmay be presented through user interface 1700 upon searching for deals byconsumer name and/or by searching for consumers in a geographiclocation. The user interface 1700 may be displayed by the merchantapplication on the merchant tablet 117, for example.

Referring to FIG. 18, a touch-sensitive user interface 1800 of amerchant application displays details for a purchased deal. The userinterface 1800 may be presented, for example, upon selecting aparticular purchased deal from the user interface 1700 and/or uponsearching for a purchased deal by voucher identifier. The user interface1800 may be displayed by the merchant application on the merchant tablet117, for example.

The computer-implemented method 500 includes updating the listing of thepurchased deals by the merchant application (step 560). The merchantapplication may update the redemption status of a particular deal inresponse to receiving input indicating that the particular purchaseddeal has been redeemed. For example, the merchant application may beconfigured to update the redemption status of the particular deal inresponse to receiving touch input corresponding to an entry for theparticular deal in the listing of purchased deals. Additionally, themerchant application may be configured to update the redemption statusof the particular deal in response to receiving the unique voucheridentifier for the particular deal as input. For example, the uniquevoucher identifier for the particular deal may be received as input whenmanually entered into a user interface of the merchant application orwhen optically identified by a scanner (such as a bar code reader or acamera).

Referring to FIG. 19, a touch-sensitive user interface 1900 of amerchant application displays information regarding the most recentredeemed deal and multiple deal redemption options. As shown, the dealredemption options include redeeming a deal by scanning a voucher,redeeming a deal by voucher identifier lookup, redeeming a deal by namelookup, and redeeming a deal by mobile redemption. The user interface1900 may be displayed by the merchant application on the merchant tablet117, for example.

Referring to FIG. 20, a touch-sensitive user interface 2000 of amerchant application displays a voucher identifier lookup screen. Theuser interface 2000 may be presented, for example, upon selecting toredeem a deal by voucher identifier lookup from the user interface 1900.The user interface 2000 may be displayed by the merchant application onthe merchant tablet 117, for example.

Referring to FIG. 21, a touch-sensitive user interface 2100 of amerchant application displays an indication that a voucher is valid. Theuser interface 2100 may be presented, for example, upon scanning a validvoucher and/or upon entering a valid voucher identifier into the voucheridentifier lookup screen of the user interface 2000. The user interface2100 may be displayed by the merchant application on the merchant tablet117, for example. When a valid voucher displayed by the user interface2100 is selected by touch input, an indication that the valid voucherhas been redeemed may be presented and/or the listing of purchased dealsin the user interface 1600 may be updated.

Referring to FIG. 22, a touch-sensitive user interface 2200 of amerchant application displays an indication that a voucher is aduplicate. The user interface 2200 may be presented, for example, uponscanning a redeemed voucher and/or upon entering a redeemed voucheridentifier into the voucher identifier lookup screen of the userinterface 2000. The user interface 2200 may be displayed by the merchantapplication on the merchant tablet 117, for example. It can beappreciated that an indication that a voucher is invalid also may bepresented upon scanning an invalid voucher and/or upon entering aninvalid voucher identifier into the voucher identifier lookup screen ofuser interface 2000.

Referring to FIG. 23, a touch-sensitive user interface 2300 of amerchant application displays a name lookup screen. The user interface2300 may be presented, for example, upon selecting to redeem a deal byname lookup from the user interface 1900. The user interface 2300 may bedisplayed by the merchant application on the merchant tablet 117, forexample.

Referring to FIG. 24, a touch-sensitive user interface 2400 of amerchant application displays search results for an entered name. Theuser interface 2100 may be presented, for example, upon entering text(for example, a partial or full name) into the name lookup screen of theuser interface 2300. The user interface 2400 may be displayed by themerchant application on the merchant tablet 117, for example. As shown,the search results include a listing of purchased deals associated withparticular purchasers. When touch input is received at the userinterface 2400 to redeem a particular purchased deal associated with aparticular purchaser, an indication that the deal has been redeemed maybe presented and/or the listing of purchased deals in the user interface1600 may be updated.

FIGS. 25-31 are screen shots of exemplary user interfaces of a merchantmessage center used to manage communications. FIG. 25 illustrates amerchant message center that enables a manager at a merchant to perceivetimely and prioritized information. As shown, GUI 2500 includes tabsthat let a manager perceive requests, “next hour” communications,alerts, profiles for current diners, and promotions. The requests taballows a manager to perceive the most pressing requests. As shown amerchant can accept a dinner reservation at 6 pm with a 20% discount for6 people, an anniversary dinner tomorrow at 7 pm for a 5 star customer,and accept a reservation request for a user responding to promotion #1for six people that has food allergy #1. Note that the manager mayselect the item to perceive more detailed information, such as, forexample, the original text or narrative sent by a prospective customer.The interface shown in GUI 2500 allows the user to readily perceive themost important information that has been identified by the transactionintermediary. In one configuration, the message is sent when the useraccepts a promotion (or makes a reservation), and includes comments. Thecomments then may be analyzed. In another configuration, an electronicmail message sent to the merchant is analyzed and framed in thestructured package shown in GUI 2500.

FIG. 26 illustrates an exemplary interface in GUI 2600 that lets amanager perceive prospective customers set to visit a restaurant in thenext hour. A manager may select the “next hour” tab in order to betterprepare for the next wave of customers and be responsive to theanticipated needs of the customers. Thus, a manager may make a mentalnote to stop by a five star customer and also to print a custom menuthat accounts for a particular food allergy.

Note that the underlying collection of messages may be received in afreeform and lacking structure. The transaction intermediary then mayprocess and order the underlying information in the collection ofmessages so that the manager may perceive actionable intelligence of theform shown in GUI 2600.

FIG. 27 illustrates an alerts tab in GUI 2700. The alerts tab may beused to project additional staffing and/or resource requirements. In oneinstance, a promotion may be so popular that the manager needs toschedule and/or hire additional staff in order to work a promotion. Inanother instance, a manager may need to order additional supplies. Theinterface shown in GUI 2700 may be linked to a staffing/schedulingapplication that informs workers of their scheduled shift. GUI 2700 alsomay be linked to an inventory/pantry management system thatautomatically places orders for additional goods based on currentinventory levels, projected demand, and/or response to currentpromotions.

FIG. 28 illustrates an exemplary interface in GUI 2800 that enables amanager to readily perceive their current customer base dining in therestaurant. The manager may perceive which customers representespecially important customers (e.g., 5 star customers), food allergiesand preferences, dining styles, and how a customer came to therestaurant. The manager then may act upon this information as themanager visits the patrons on the floor. For example, the manager mayattempt to strike up a conversation with Diner_B knowing that Diner_B islikely to comment upon this experience in social media.

FIG. 29. illustrates a current promotions tab that enables the merchantto perceive the effectiveness of a marketing campaign/promotion.Oftentimes, a merchant may wish to tailor or adjust the terms of thepromotion. If a promotion is too popular, the merchant may wish toterminate or expend diminished resources on a promotion so that amerchant is not overwhelmed and/or a desired level of profitability ismaintained. Likewise, if a promotion is effective but information aboutthe promotion is not widely disseminated, the merchant may investadditional resources in deal promotion.

FIG. 30 is an exemplary screen shots of a list of customers that enablesa merchant to view their subscriber community. The user may view theirsubscriber community by value (e.g., the 5 star customers), whether acustomer is returning, and/or based on whether a customer was apromotion participant. The list of customers then may be analyzed todesign a promotion. For example, a merchant may wish to furtherunderstand the list of promotion participants that were not five starcustomers in order to design a marketing campaign or promotion thatincreases their participation at the business. The manager then maydesign a targeted promotion specifically for User_B or those members ofthe user community that have similar profiles to User_B (e.g., patronsthat hold large functions and/or bring in large families)

FIG. 31 is an example a promotion design tool that enables a user topropose a transaction and monitor the impact on profitability. As shown,the manager is targeting 5 star customers with a 30% off the first $150spent for parties of 4. The user may select one or more of the buttonsshown to edit the parameters of the proposed promotion. The projectedperformance is shown below. As the manager adjusts the promotion, theuser may see the impact on the projected financial performance.

FIG. 32 is a screen shot of a profile manager that enables a customer tocontrol which profile information is shared among merchants. Forexample, a user may rely on the consumer application shown above toparticipate in an incentivized promotion system. Over time, a rich userprofile may be built up. The user may wish to share that information inorder to equip a merchant to better offer amenities and also to equip amerchant to be more responsive to the user's needs. The user may wish toshare information related to allergies to avoid medical complicationsand also share information regarding the user's response to pastpromotions in order to inspire a merchant to design a promotion for theuser (or to be included in promotion campaigns that target particulardemographics).

As shown, GUI 3200 has privacy controls that are applied so that aUser_A can selectively share information by checking “Yes” or “No” aftera particular entry. The profile control engine also allows the user tospecify whether the information is shared publicly (Everyone), with aparticular business (Restaurant), or not shared (Do not share). GUI 3200also has a privacy control that enables a user to specify whether theuser request that the information be shared in every instance.

While the computer-implemented method 500, described above, illustratesa particular sequence of steps, other sequences of steps can beperformed in accordance with the described implementations. Moreover,some individual steps of the computer-implemented method 500 can includemultiple sub-steps, additional steps can be added to thecomputer-implemented method 500, and/or some steps can be removed fromthe computer-implemented method 500 depending on a particularimplementation.

In one configuration, the merchant message center also may be used todistill information about the merchant's presence in one or more socialmedia forums. Thus, if a comment is made about the merchant on a reviewsite or a social networking engine (e.g., Facebook), the comments (orindicia of the comments) then may be made about the user may be routedto the merchant message center. The manager then may respond to themessage and/or investigate the issues if the comments are less thanpositive. Similarly, the merchant may design a word-of-mouth promotionby distributing a particular link that may be forwarded. As the messageis forwarded and viewed by an ever expanding locus of prospectivecustomers, the merchant message center may provide an indication of themanner in which the promotion is being viewed (e.g., number of views,time of views, number of acceptances). The merchant message center thenmay equip the manager to tailor and/or suspend a promotion based onreal-time feedback.

Similarly, merchant message center also may include a contact list ofcustomers and/or prospective customers with profile information for eachuser. A merchant may view the profile information and design a marketingcampaign according to criteria specified by the user (e.g., mostprofitable customers, most frequently-visiting customers, most“influential” based on social media referrals (e.g., retweets or sharingof links on a user's personalized web page)).

The transaction intermediary may enable the merchant to analyze aproposed marketing campaign. For example, the transaction intermediarymay offer a tool that enables the merchant to observe a projectedfinancial model for a particular offer based on the behavior of theircustomers. In one projection, the merchant may observe the financialperformance of a first promotion that offers the 30% most activecustomers a 33% discount for parties of six or more people. The firstpromotion may see participation levels of X % with a projected profit of$Y. The merchant then may adjust the parameters to create a secondpromotion so that the 50% most active customers receive a 20% discountfor parties of four or more. The second promotion then may seeparticipation levels of A % and with a projected outcome of $B.

In various implementations, one or more steps the computer-implementedmethod 500 can implemented as executable computer program instructionsstored on a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readablestorage medium can be implemented as one or more types ofcomputer-readable storage media including volatile or non-volatilememory, removable or non-removable memory, erasable or non-erasablememory, writeable or re-writeable memory, and so forth. The terms“computer-readable storage medium” and “computer-readable storage media”specifically do not consist of propagating signals and other types oftransitory computer-readable media.

While certain features of the implementations have been illustrated anddescribed, any modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalentsoccurring to those skilled in the art are intended to fall within thetrue spirit of the implementations.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A computer-implemented method comprising: generating, at a transaction intermediary, a merchant message interface comprising: an alerts tab that is configured to display, when engaged by a user, first data messages that include data associated with a resource requirement, each first data message is indicative of one or more actions that are to be taken in a likely time period for utilizing the resource requirement and are associated with the resource requirement from which a merchant is able to select, a customer profiles tab that is configured to display, when engaged by the user, second data messages that are each associated with a corresponding one of one or more customer profiles, wherein each of the second data messages indicates historical data associated with a corresponding customer and a merchant rating associated with the corresponding customer; and outputting, to a display of a merchant device, the merchant message interface.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein at least one of the first data messages is configured to enable the merchant to perceive the resource requirement relative to available resources.
 21. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising enabling the merchant, by engaging one of the first data messages, to accept a proposed transaction according to one or more actions associated with the resource requirement.
 22. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the merchant message interface further comprises a next hour tab that is configured to display, when engaged by the user, third data messages indicative of one or more actions that are to be taken in the likely time period and are associated with the resource requirement, and wherein the likely time period is 60 minutes.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon such execution, cause the one or more computers to perform operations comprising: generating, at a transaction intermediary, a merchant message interface comprising: an alerts tab that is configured to display, when engaged by a user, first data messages that include data associated with a resource requirement, each first data message is indicative of one or more actions that are to be taken in a likely time period for utilizing the resource requirement and are associated with the resource requirement from which the merchant is able to select, and a customer profiles tab that is configured to display, when engaged by the user, second data messages that are each associated with a corresponding one or more customer profiles, wherein each of the second data messages indicates historical data associated with a corresponding customer and a merchant rating associated with the corresponding customer; and outputting, to a display of a merchant device, the merchant message interface.
 24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein at least one of the first data messages is configured to enable the merchant to perceive the resource requirement relative to available resources.
 25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the operations further comprise enabling the merchant, by engaging one of the first data messages, to accept a proposed transaction according to one or more actions associated with the resource requirement.
 26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the merchant message interface further comprises a next hour tab that is configured to display, when engaged by the user, third data messages indicative of one or more actions that are to be taken in the likely time period and are associated with the resource requirement, and wherein the likely time period is 60 minutes.
 27. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein: the resource requirement comprises a staffing condition associated with the merchant; and the first data messages indicative of one or more actions associated with the resource requirement from which the merchant is able to select comprises options to modify (i) a number of staff members associated with the merchant, and (ii) a type of staff member associated with the merchant.
 28. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein: the resource requirement comprises a supplies condition associated with the merchant; and the first data messages indicative of one or more actions associated with the resource requirement from which the merchant is able to select comprises options to modify (i) a number of supplies associated with the merchant, and (ii) a type of supply associated with the merchant.
 29. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising: arranging the first data messages according to an order of priority associated with the merchant; filtering out, from the first data messages, a first data message that does not satisfy a priority threshold; updating the merchant message interface to include only the first data messages that satisfy the priority threshold.
 30. The computer-implemented method of claim 29, wherein the priority threshold is determined based on a particular time or a time period.
 31. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein: the resource requirement comprises a customer promotion condition associated with the merchant; and the first data messages indicative of one or more actions associated with the resource requirement from which the merchant is able to select comprises options to modify a customer promotion associated with the customer promotion condition, the options to modify including (i) an option to terminate the customer promotion and (ii) an option to invest additional merchant resources in the customer promotion.
 32. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the second data messages that are displayed in association with the alerts tab comprise a frequent guest indication or a food allergy indication.
 33. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving a profile selection user input that indicates selection of one or more of historical data associated with a customer or a merchant rating of the customer; receiving a privacy control user input that indicates changing privacy control settings of the one or more of the historical data associated with the customer or the merchant rating of the customer; and modifying accessibility of the one or more of the historical data associated with the customer or the merchant rating of the customer.
 34. The computer-implemented method of claim 33, further comprising: generating a customer interface comprising a customer profiles tab that is configured to display, when engaged by the user, one or more of the historical data associated with the customer or the merchant rating of the customer; and outputting, to a device of the customer through the computer network, the customer interface.
 35. The computer-implemented method of claim 19, wherein the merchant message interface is configured to be displayed on a touch-sensitive interface of the merchant device, wherein the one or more actions that are to be taken include an order placement, and wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises: upon detecting user engagement of the alerts tab indicating the order placement, transmitting, to an inventory management system, an order placement data message.
 36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the merchant message interface is configured to be displayed on a touch-sensitive interface of the merchant device, wherein the one or more actions that are to be taken include an order placement, and wherein the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing software comprising instructions executable by one or more computers which, upon execution, cause the one or more computers to perform further operations comprising: upon detecting user engagement of the alerts tab indicating the order placement, transmitting, to an inventory management system, an order placement data message.
 37. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, at a merchant messaging center, feedback from a customer, the feedback being provided from one or more social network platforms associated with the customer; determining a priority value for the customer based on the received feedback; assigning the priority value to the customer; configuring a campaign with one or more parameters based on the priority value assigned to the customer; generating a projected outcome of the campaign; receiving, based on the projected outcome of the campaign, an input from a merchant to modify at least one of the one or more parameters; in response to receiving the input from the merchant to modify the at least one of the one or more parameters: modifying the campaign based on the modified at least one of the one or more parameters; and transmitting, to the customer, data providing access to the campaign.
 38. The computer-implemented method of claim 37, further comprising: receiving data indicative of a performance of the campaign, the data including real-time information indicating i) a number of customers having viewed the campaign; and ii) a number of customers having purchased a deal through the campaign; and based on the data including the real-time information and based on available resources of the merchant, providing a message to the merchant to modify the campaign. 